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With Retail 3, Omnicom Salvages Part of BBDO Detroit

Staffers From Former Chrysler Shop Pulled in for New Agency

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Omnicom Group on Monday is putting a number of former BBDO Detroit staffers back to work with the launch of a new retail-focused shop called Retail 3. Half of the 52-person agency is made up of former BBDO Detroit employees, including Harold Kobakof, president of Retail 3 and former chief retail officer at the shuttered shop.

Omnicom shut down BBDO Detroit in January when its contract with Chrysler ended. There were 485 people at the agency at that time.

Harold Kobakof
Retail 3, which stands for retail strategy, retail activation and retail metrics, will be based in Troy, Mich., where BBDO Detroit was headquartered. With 40 people in the field and 12 based in Troy, it will offer services including creative; media planning and buying; digital and social media; direct marketing; e-mail and mobile communications; lead management; event activation; and co-op administration.

The agency will target potential clients in numerous retail industries, such as quick-service restaurants, telecommunications, insurance, financial services and automotive.

John Wren, president-CEO of Omnicom Group, said in a statement: "R3 brings deep existing experience in retail marketing, which we are mobilizing to meet the immediate needs of today's retail industries. The company's launch extends this existing experience with new and added capabilities to deliver campaign effectiveness from brand awareness to the point-of-sale retail-buying experience."

And in an e-mail, Bob Norsworthy, exev VP of DAS, or Diversified Agency Services, a division of Omnicom, said the new shop is a good compliment to Omnicom's stable of agencies and vice versa.

"Retail 3 is a concept I pursued throughout my career because I saw how effective the field networks I managed were for QSR and other clients," he said. "The concept couldn't be expanded because the agencies didn't have the resources to actualize it. We look forward to leveraging it for agencies and clients alike."

Mr. Kobakof said the agency has the ability to activate a program in every one of 210 designated market areas across the country. "We have a tenure and a deep understanding geographically, culturally and from a local event and media perspective in every one of those markets," Mr. Kobakof said. "Retail clients are looking for us to stand shoulder to shoulder with them on their business, make the proper adjustments when needed and tying into their client database and making sure that we're delivering the sales and hitting the objectives."